‘Local Players Not Ripe For Eagles’

Despite dominating Palancas Negras of Angola in the international friendly game played at the Abuja National Stadium on Wednesday, which ended goalless, Super Eagles’ Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi, says the local players are not ripe enough, insisting that they have a long way to go before giving Nigerians the desired result.

The local Eagles who had been in camp for almost a month traded tackles with Angola in a thrilling encounter. The only thing missing in their game was their inability to convert the numerous chances that came their way to goals. However, Keshi said that Nigerians should not believe that the local boys can take up the place of the foreign based players in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Rwanda next month.

“I am happy with the local players, but we should not start thinking that they can face Rwanda. The players are not ripe yet. We have just been in camp for three weeks. I am very proud of what they did against Angola, but they still have a long way to go. We should not think that we are there yet; we still have a long way to go,” Keshi said.

The former Nigerian captain told P.M. Sports in Abuja that the local players need top rated friendly games to build their confidence, correct their mistakes and expose them to the challenges of playing at the level of international football.

“If we have games like this, the players will get better and have confidence that they can play. They can play, no doubt about it, but we need room for correction and exposure,” he added.

The Delta State– born football tactician said that his team played against a very strong Angolan team and commended the discipline displayed by the players throughout the game.

“We played against a very strong Angolan team. When I was with Mali, we played against Angola and we conceded four goals before we leveled scores. I am particularly impressed with the discipline of my players in this game as they were able to execute some of the things they learnt in training, but they are not ripe yet,” Keshi said.

—Francis Achi, Abuja